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Mario Lopez Responds After Backlash for Saying It’s ‘Dangerous’ for Kids to Choose Their Gender

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images
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By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

July 31, 2019

Actor and entertainment host Mario Lopez is in the hot seat after suggesting last month it’s “dangerous” for parents to allow their young children to determine their own sexual and gender identities.

Mario Lopez Says It’s ‘Dangerous’ for Kids to Choose Their Sex, Gender

Karamo Brown, one of the stars of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” took to Twitter Tuesday to voice his disapproval of the incoming “Access Hollywood” host’s comments.

I don’t think @MarioLopezExtra should be ‘canceled’. But I do believe he should be given the opportunity to learn why his comments are harmful to trans youth and their parents. Mario, I’m ready to talk when you are.

— Karamo Brown (@Karamo) July 31, 2019

Lopez, 45, made his remarks about transgenderism after being asked by conservative firebrand Candace Owens about actor Charlize Theron’s decision to raises her now-7-year-old son Jackson as a female.

Theron said in April she began raising Jackson as a girl when, at three years old, her biological son told her he was really a female. Lopez told Owens he is “blown away” by the trend.

The celebrity interviewer is right to have concerns. There has not yet been enough research to determine the effects of delaying or preventing puberty by using so-called puberty blockers, which are being used for “off-label” reasons when given to children experiencing gender dysphoria.

There also isn’t enough data to know whether the impact of puberty blockers is reversible, should a child change his or her mind — as they are wont to do.

In addition, doctors have warned testosterone and estrogen, the hormones stalled by puberty blockers, play an important role in children’s neurological development and bone growth.

Dr. Courtney Finlayson, a pediatric endocrinologist at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, argued puberty blockers are “very safe,” but admitted “there is some decrease in bone density during treatment with pubertal suppression.”

Regardless, Lopez was met with intense backlash for airing his concerns:

Mario Lopez’s suggestion that parents ought not accept their trans kids — kids who face staggering levels of suicide, bullying and other hurdles — is cruel. He conflated sexual orientation and gender identity, which is a pretty big tell that ya don’t know anything about this.

— Alex Berg (@itsalexberg) July 31, 2019

It's unfortunate that someone who is so involved with @GLAAD like @MarioLopezExtra would be so misinformed about #trans kids. I wish that he would reach out to @sarahkateellis for some guidance on the difference between sex and gender identity https://t.co/JrGkfHTP2y

— Alexandra Halaby (@iskandrah) July 31, 2019

It’s okay @MarioLopezExtra. We’re here to help provide more education on what being #transgender means, the difference between #sexualorientation, #sex, and #gender… and a whole lot of other things. https://t.co/ahjYTyenMD

— PFLAG National (@PFLAG) July 31, 2019

Lopez is also receiving support. Some social media users have been using the hashtag #IStandWithMarioLopez.

My 14-month-old son just said Mario Lopez did nothing wrong

— Dark Psychic Poso🔮 (@JackPosobiec) July 31, 2019

I don’t mind you becoming transgender, that’s your business. However, as an adult you know the risk you put yourself in, but a child does not. To encourage a young child to transition is dangerous #IStandWithMarioLopez

— Aaron Payne (@A_aron_payne) July 31, 2019

Mario Lopez said nothing wrong here. Nothing. pic.twitter.com/y166bBSe1R

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 31, 2019

What is Lopez saying now?

Lopez is now on clean-up duty. In a statement shared with NBC News on Wednesday, the former “Saved by the Bell” star described his comments to Owens as “ignorant and insensitive.”

He explained he now has “a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were.”

“I have been and always will be an ardent supporter of the LGBTQ community, and I am going to use this opportunity to better educate myself,” Lopez said. “Moving forward, I will be more informed and thoughtful.”

Parler

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